


Center Stage

by timmytam0907



Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, F/F, First Meetings, Romance, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-22
Updated: 2016-04-22
Packaged: 2018-06-03 21:04:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,944
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6626218
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/timmytam0907/pseuds/timmytam0907
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Pyrrha meets Ruby, a fellow prodigy who understands what it's like to be held with high expectations and thought to have accomplished all she has done by sheer talent.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Center Stage

**Author's Note:**

> This is sort of a companion piece to Progress of a Kiss of how Pyrrha and Ruby meet. Can of course be read alone.

 

Basketball sneakers hurriedly squeaked one after another against the linoleum floor as green eyes casted upon the inside of lightly bronzed, tanned wrists to a small, golden chained watch with leaves and vines embroidered on the sides. The long hand was just about to meet at the very top, nearly about to make perfect line with its' shorter counterpart that was just barely pointing down. The display of her watch was an indication to Pyrrha that she was about to be late to a lecture on robotic prosthetics, an extra credit assignment for her Anatomy course.

Her eyebrows furrowed as the corner of her lips turned down in disapproval, mentally reprimanding herself for allowing time to get away from her while at basketball practice. Due to her negligence of keeping track, she now would have to awkwardly sit in during the lecture still sweaty and in uniform.

Another series of reprimands crossed her mind as she lowered her hand and quickened her pace, she should have set an alarm. How could she forget to set an alarm? Sitting for two hours with sweat clinging onto her skin and a dirty uniform was hardly going to help keep her focus during a lecture.

With a grimace, she adjusted her bag and quickened her pace, nearly jogging to the lecture. The moment she turned the corner though, she noticed someone hunched over on the floor along with many papers and large cases before tripping over them, and was forced to halt her movements, causing her sneakers to squeak loudly against the floor and stumble forward.

The sound caused the person to turn their head, settling wide and startled silver eyes onto the basketball player.

"I-I'm sorry!" Pyrrha said, ducking her head in slight embarrassment at being caught running in the hallway. "I hope I didn't step on your papers." She continued, slowly taking a few steps back while keeping an eye out for any loose leafs. Looking back up, she took notice of black leggings, stretched out and barely showing pale skin underneath it. Matte Black shorts were worn over, with a shiny black blouse tucked into it. To complete the ensemble, was a oddly colored, though neatly tailored, lab coat that was red in it's design with its' tail brushing against the floor. Shoulder length black hair framed the stranger's cute face; catching her thoughts, Pyrrha's cheeks tinged pink in embarrassment for thinking something as such.

"Oh, it's fine." The stranger sheepishly laughed. "They're not TOO important, they can handle a little wear and tear."

The basketball player gave a small smile, though it disappeared at once upon just noticing how many papers were scattered. Pyrrha bit her lip in worry, as she didn't want to just leave the stranger to their unfortunate demise, but she also didn't want to be late. Quickly glancing over to where her lecture hall was, she found the door to be open still… The lecturer wasn't there yet.

With that reassurance, she knelt down and began to gather the fallen and scattered papers. "Do these need to be in any particular order?" Pyrrha asked.

The stranger's eyes slightly bulged out of their sockets, surprise written all over their face at Pyrrha helping them. They quickly regained their composure though and shook their head to answer Pyrrha's question. "Nope! These are just handouts, so…" they gestured lamely, allowing their sentence to trail off.

The sight was a little endearing, and Pyrrha couldn't help but to smile before continuing to gather the papers. While doing so, she took a quick glance over to the 8 hard cases that mostly differed in size, though none were thin and were carefully set off to the side. Pyrrha noted that they must be of great importance as they had many latches to ensure complete closure. They also looked to be rather heavy, though appearances could be deceiving.

"Might I ask where you are going…?" Pyrrha trailed off in question, hoping for a name as she handed over the small stack of papers.

"Ruby." The stranger cheerfully stated, taking the stack as the two stood up. "And I need to get to Lecture hall 160."

Pyrrha's eyebrows jumped in surprise for a moment, before she schooled her features. "For the Robotic's lecture?"

Ruby's head ducked down, sheepishly nodding while a hand was brought up to rub the back of their neck. "Er… Yeah."

The basketball player eyed the much shorter student with a curious eye, glancing over to the cases and stack of papers in hand, and came to the conclusion that Ruby might be assisting the lecturer for the presentation.

"I'm going there myself," Pyrrha smiled, placing an open palm to the center of her chest to emphasize her statement. "I can assist you with your belongings if you'd like." She said, gesturing to the many cases off to the side.

Ruby's head snapped back up, looking up to Pyrrha with beaming eyes and a wide smile, "Really? You'd do that?"

Pyrrha felt her own smile widen at the sight of Ruby's, warmth rising up in her chest in pleasure of making someone cute so happy. There was no other choice but to nod in agreement, "Of course."

The answer immensely pleased Ruby as the smile seemed to stretch even wider, "Thank you so much! It would really be a big help… uh"

The lull coming from Ruby and questioning gaze casted toward Pyrrha made her realize that Ruby did not recognize her at all, and suddenly the basketball player became very excited, nearly snatching Ruby's hand to give an enthusiastic shake. "Pyrrha, Pyrrha Nikos. I'm sorry for not introducing myself earlier."

"O-Oh… Uh… It's okay." Ruby stuttered, fumbling with the papers in her other hand to prevent them from falling.

Realizing how forceful she might have been, Pyrrha quickly plucked her hand out of Ruby's with an abashed look. "Oh… I-I'm sorry."

Ruby merely laughed, brushing the apology off with an embarrassed smile. "It's okay, I'm used to it." The statement caused Pyrrha to tilt her head in puzzlement. "So uh… these are really delicate, and I'd prefer if you held them with both hands…"

Pyrrha nodded in understanding as she bent over to pick up 4 of the larger cases that were already stacked up on top of one another, glancing over to Ruby who smiled and nodded in approval. Upon lifting them, Pyrrha had expected them to be heavier but jerked in surprise upon finding that they were actually fairly light.

Ruby did the same with the smaller cases, placing the stack of papers on top of it and adjusting her backpack before lifting. "Alright! Teamwork!" Ruby cheered lamely, causing Pyrrha to chuckle at the adorable sight as she began to trail after the shorter student.

Upon entering, Ruby merely gestured for Pyrrha to set the cases down center stage where a couple of tables were set up with a few stands on them.

"Thank you so much for helping." Ruby smiled, putting the last few cases down next to Pyrrha's

"It was no problem, I was happy to help. If you'd like, I can help you after the lecture is over as well." Pyrrha offered, hoping to spend just a little more time with Ruby.

"Oh… I don't want to trouble you." Ruby frowned in concern.

"It would be no trouble at all." Pyrrha charmingly stated.

"Well, if you insist." Ruby relented with a smile, causing Pyrrha to nod in approval.

Pyrrha waved goodbye as she parted from Ruby, upon turning she found that the entire lecture hall was actually filled with people, some were even standing in the back and off to the side. Before she could ascend to the very top to stand as well, she caught her Anatomy Professor waving at her from near the center of the 14th roll and gestured to the free seat next to him. The basketball player made her way toward him, muttering apologies for getting in the way of the other participates.

"Miss Nikos, I'm glad to see you made it!" The professor enthused. "Though, I didn't know you were acquainted with Miss Rose!"

"Yes, I-" Pyrrha paused, "I'm sorry, who?"

Her professor quizzically looked at her before gesturing to Ruby who was just about finished setting up a variety of prosthetics, 4 different types of legs, a chest piece, and 3 different arms on the stands of the table. "Ruby Rose. Surely you knew that your friend would be doing the presentation."

"What? I- No. I didn't know, I just met her right before we came in." Pyrrha confessed. She couldn't believe that Ruby was actually the lecturer.

"Oh." Her professor looked a little disappointed at that. "Although she is currently an intern, Miss Rose is quickly on her way to becoming one of the leading engineers for robotic prosthetics at Polendina Industries." He stated, causing Pyrrha's eyes to widen in surprise.

Polendina Industries was the top engineering company throughout Remnant for robotics, with a name on many-advanced technological products ranging from home entertainment systems to medical equipment. Getting a job or internship at such a prestigious company was one thing, but being on track to becoming one of the leading engineers was something entirely different.

"It really is quite the honor to attend a lecture by her, she's a very talented individual. Especially since she not only continues her hard work at her internship, but is maintaining high grades while at it." The professor laughed, "Kind of like yourself actually, not only are you a star athlete, but you're about to obtain honors and well on your way to medical school! The two of you are absolutely incredible and immensely gifted." He praised.

Pyrrha merely responded with a strained smile. She never liked receiving praise along those lines. She had practiced basketball every single day without fail to become as good as she was today and whenever there was a break in practice, she would study or do her homework for classes. Of course, a part it could be talent in academia or sports sure, but there were countless nights where she had no time in between practice, and stayed up well into the early hours of morning to do homework to keep her grades up. So being told that all her hard work was reduced to _just_ talent was rather… offensive and it always gave other people in ear shot the idea that she was some sort of infallible higher being who was walking among mortals. She absolutely hated it as it put her on some grand standing pedestal that she never even wanted.

She glanced down to Ruby, who had pulled out a laptop and an image was being displayed on the large white screen behind her, seemingly getting ready to begin the lecture, and Pyrrha wondered if Ruby ever faced the same problems as her.

"Er… Hello everyone." Ruby's voice started, causing everyone to immediately quiet down as she closed the door to the lecture hall. "Thank you for coming… Tonight I'll be talking about…"

For almost the entirety of the lecture, all attention was focused on the short girl who took the time to explain everything cleanly, though albeit awkwardly. She gave enough room in between each explanation for questions, happily obliging to any who raised their hand. Amazingly, many professors were also in attendance and even a few engineers, who would always respectfully address her and never allow her age to be an issue between them. During the presentation, Ruby also demonstrated how precise the robotic limbs were by activating them and having them perform a few simple tasks. Pyrrha was surprised that they were all prototypes, as it seemed they could perform many mundane tasks, but Ruby insisted that they could be improved to perform even more. Her argument was that amputees needed to be able to feel that their prosthetic would do absolutely anything the design was meant and made to do.

"The basic prosthetic arm is meant to perform basic tasks that the average organic arm and hand can do. Turning a page in a book, lifting a cup from the handle, pulling a blanket over your body, using a dial on a stove, even the simple act of holding utensils; these are things that the average person doesn't think about, but they are basic necessities. If this prosthetic can't even turn a page without ripping it out, then it is not complete." Ruby insisted causing many of the participants to nod their head in understanding. "Unfortunately, these arms will not be able to take the strain of physical activities-"

She paused when a few participants began snickering, prompting her to give befuddled and wary look at the general area of laughter while many others shot a narrowed glare. Pyrrha could 

"Er…" She hesitated before clearing her throat, "For example, pull ups, push ups, martial arts, tennis," her silver eyes met Pyrrha's before she quickly moved on, "basketball… These activities are too strenuous for this prosthetic. Therefore a patient would have to talk to their doctor about ordering a specialized arm if they wish to continue in their activities…"

She was once again interrupted, but this time it was due to loud murmurs of disagreements.

"This is stupid! You just don't want to make an arm that can do everything so you can make more money!" Someone rudely shouted, causing uproars of agreements from many others.

Pyrrha nearly growled, narrowing her eyes at the general area of protests in disbelief for having the audacity to be so rude, disrespectful, and being so ignorant as to think an arm can easily be built to do everything. Her sentiment was shared with many other professors, her own professor muttering rudely about the ones shouting in protest, as they all tensed. Ready to argue back in defense of Ruby and her fellow engineers.

The shouts of protests all ceased though as everyone began noticing a couple of people descending the stairs as Ruby took her time looking around the room before settling on Pyrrha. "Can you also come down?" She asked, gesturing to her with an open palm facing up.

Although confused, Pyrrha obliged with the request.

By the time the 3 people reached the stage, Ruby began pointing out where each of them should stand. Once finished, they were all standing in a row facing the audience with a few feet between themselves, though albeit askew as Pyrrha ended up being near the center of the stage.

Ruby walked over to the one furthest to the right, asking for the person's name.

"Do you participate in any activities? Or sports?" Ruby asked, before holding out a microphone for the person to speak in.

"No… Not really. I mean, I'll go out drinking with my friends every now and then."

"So no sports. Do you type? Cook? Do any activities that require precision?"

"No more than the average student I'm sure." The person said, causing a few chuckles to ring through the hall.

Ruby merely smiled before continuing to the next person. "And what about you?"

The person laughed, "I don't exercise at all, but I draw A LOT and I have to sew almost everyday."

The lecturer quietly asked for the person's hand and examined it, "Oh yeah. You have A LOT of blisters and from the looks of it… You play guitar?"

The person nodded enthusiastically. "Oh yeah. Any time I can really."

Ruby thanked them before continuing to Pyrrha, beaming up to the much taller woman. "I kind of live under a rock, so I don't recognize sport jerseys." She stated, causing a few laughs. "Can you tell me what sport you play?"

Pyrrha smiled, "I play basketball."

Ruby nodded, eyeing Pyrrha's arms. "It looks like you practice everyday too. Do you do any other activities that require upper body strength?"

"Of course. My coach requires the entire team to spend some time in the workout area; we have to do pull ups, push-ups, sit-ups…" Pyrrha couldn't continue as someone interrupted with a catcall, causing her to blush and shut her mouth.

Ruby frowned, and shot a glare of disapproval toward the general direction the sound came from. Rolling her eyes before shaking her head as she walked away to Pyrrha's left, making the row balanced. "As you can see, these three people participate in completely different activities, therefore their muscles are structured very differently from each other. Most of you are coming in here from an Anatomy course, so I hope you would know that different muscles are used for different tasks; someone who only goes out with friends and doesn't play guitar, is hardly going to be able to play it right the moment they pick up the instrument, they're going to have to practice everyday before their hand muscles are stretched out enough for flexibility to play chords. Someone who sews everyday and never exercises is not going to suddenly be able to get the ball in the basket and make the basketball team."

"If any one of them had an arm that could do just about everything when the individual doesn't even do 'everything', not only would it would be a waste of an arm, it would be a waste of my and every engineer's time, the individual's money, and the company's recourses." She continued, "Not only that, but it would be an insult to every other person who has worked hard to train their muscles to perform whatever activity it is they're doing. So unless the entire human race can suddenly perform every single action without having to work hard, THEN I along with the rest of robotic engineers will start building prosthetics that can do so because then at least someone would be making the most of the arm." Ruby finished, stunning the hall into silence. Before continuing, she gestured for the 3 students to return to their seats.

After that, the lecture continued on without interruption. A few times, Ruby's silver eyes would meet Pyrrha's green ones, causing the two to trade a smile between themselves before Ruby continued on.

When it finally ended, and many of the participants were filing out of the lecture hall with the handouts Pyrrha helped collect in hand and the dozen or so people that were crowding around Ruby to ask her questions, shake her hand, and take a look at her prosthetics had dispersed, Pyrrha descended from the steps to walk up to the lecturer.

"That was a superb lecture." Pyrrha complimented the moment she was within earshot.

Ruby whirled around on her ear, a large smile appearing on her face the moment she saw Pyrrha. "Thanks! And thanks for staying, I didn't actually think you would." She said rubbing her neck.

Charmed at the sight, the corner of Pyrrha's lips quirked up. "I said I would. May I ask where we will be taking these… limbs?"

"Oh! Well… technically I'm supposed to take it back to the workshop, but boss man said I can keep it at my apartment for now." Ruby stated. "It's not far from here if you don't mind walking a bit."

"No not at all!" Pyrrha asserted, causing Ruby to smile before she began packing up her limbs.

Pyrrha didn't dare touch any of the prosthetics in fear of possibly damaging them, so she set herself against the front desk, closest to Ruby and watched. "I didn't think you would be lecturing the class."

Ruby gave a quizzical glance at Pyrrha, looking up at the ceiling in thought before a nervous laugh came out. "I guess I never said that I would be, so it makes sense if you didn't think that."

"Regardless, you handled everything superbly." Pyrrha firmly stated. "Especially the way you handled your argument! That was amazing."

Ruby's cheeks flushed red, ducking her head while she continued to finish up putting her limbs away. "Thanks. I had some practice growing up though."

Pyrrha tilted her head, gesturing for Ruby to clarify.

"Well, I was always referred to as some genius kid when I was little." Ruby confessed, "And sure… I have a faster learning process than most other people, but it's just… I was more interested in learning about robotics than hanging out with other kids. So I studied or tinkered with mechanisms most of the time, and adults would tell me that I must have good genes or my parents did right in raising me, but I have an older sister and it's just my dad who raised me. Being told that I have good genes is insulting to my sis and it makes it sound like I was born already knowing physics and mathematics instead of studying. It's stupid. And when people accuse me of being unfair and not building an all purpose arm, it just reminds me of how everyone seems to neglect the work I put into where I am today."

Pyrrha felt a spark within her chest, and before she realized it, she had leaned forward, nearly stumbling away from the desk with eyes filled with understanding. "I know what you mean!"

Ruby leaned her head back with brows pulled back and eyes wide from the sudden shout. "Er…"

"Ever since I was a child, I was revered for being a star athlete and top student. I was always asked how I was able to maintain high grades in the advanced courses and still manage to be exceptionally well at sports, and was always told it must be a gift." Pyrrha confessed, placing a hand over her sternum. "While I understand that people have good intentions when they say I have talent, I never liked it because the manner of which they spoke of it made it sound as though it was simply bestowed upon me while neglecting the fact that I practice and study everyday."

Ruby's eyes glistened as her eyebrows relaxed and she leaned a bit closer to Pyrrha. "So you do know what I mean!"

Pyrrha nodded eagerly as Ruby continued rambling about some of the experiences she faced and how awkward it could be for her sometimes.

In turn, Pyrrha also shared her own personal experiences.

Before they knew it, Ruby had already gathered all her limbs and equipment, and the two were already walking out of the lecture hall with Ruby leading them.

During their walk to Ruby's apartment, the two continued exchanging stories, sharing some of their insecurities due to all of the high expectations placed upon them. Ruby confessed that since she spent most of her childhood studying, she ended up skipping two grades, so despite being 18, she was in fact, already considered a junior in college. Also, due to her father and sister's insistence, she had enrolled in a robotics fair every year since she learned how to engineer – which is how the director of the department of prosthetics found and recruited her, stating that she could become the one to finally complete a fully functioning robotic prostatic and become the youngest leading engineer.

It was of course, nerve wrecking to be placed to that expectation, especially when she didn't have that many years of experience compared to all of the other engineers and was made to .

Pyrrha confessed that while she loves basketball, she never wanted to make a career out of it. She was offered a scholarship for the sport and had accepted it, to help make financial situations at home easier as her parent's were technically considered lower-middle class workers. What she really wanted to do though, was become a surgeon, and while it would be nice to specialize in pediatric care, she wouldn't mind staying a general surgeon. But, as her entire academic career would be based on her performance in basketball, she had to ensure that she kept up her athletic performance along side with her academics. Being under the watchful eye of many different sponsors was stressful, and often times she found that she wasn't allowed to speak of her preference for her future in fear that a basketball sponsor or medical opportunity would drop her.

Almost too soon the two found themselves at the front door of Ruby's apartment, and Pyrrha couldn't help but sag her shoulders and pull her eyebrows together as her bottom lip jutted out. Being able to talk freely of her insecurities to someone who could empathize was liberating, and she had wished to keep experiencing that feeling for a while longer.

"It was lovely talking to you." Pyrrha stated, putting the cases down by the door where Ruby indicated for her to.

Ruby eagerly nodded, her smile stretched so wide that it caused her cheeks to turn pink as her eyes shone up at Pyrrha, rivaling even the twinkle of the stars. "Yeah! It was really, really nice. I had a lot of fun."

The sight was adorable, and incredibly endearing, Pyrrha realized she wanted to see Ruby making the same faces again, and learn more about what other faces she could make, to learn more about Ruby and to share more about herself with this person who understood her so well.

Going against all instinct that told her to keep her feelings bottled up (a habit from meeting all those other sponsors throughout her college and upper high school years), she persisted and blurted out, "Would you like to spend some time to talk to each other again?"

Eyelids rapidly blinked over silver eyes in surprise.

The reaction made heat rise up to Pyrrha's cheeks, but this was something she wanted, and she would not apologize for it as her eyes hardened to show it.

The corner of pink lips turned up and opened slightly, barely showing pearl white teeth, and the pink cheeks turned redder in color as Ruby gave a slow nod. "I uh… I would love to spend time to talk with you again."

The answer caused Pyrrha to smile widely, her own cheeks turning darker as she quickly reached into her bag and fumbled her phone out. "Th-then, would you please give me your number so we can schedule a day to meet?" She asked, holding her phone to Ruby.

The shorter woman nodded once again, gently taking the phone, fingers light brushing Pyrrha's hand causing the taller woman to nearly jerk in surprise. Ruby mumbled an apology before typing in her number onto the phone. "Would it be okay if I texted myself to get your number?" Ruby asked

"Of course, please do!" Pyrrha nodded, prompting another toothy smile from Ruby.

After a minute, Ruby handed the phone back, rubbing the back of her neck with her free hand. "I uh… I'm not a good texter since I don't make it a habit to keep my phone on me when I'm in the workshop. So I'm sorry if I don't respond right away."

Pyrrha shook her head, red hair whipping back and forth. "That's fine, I confess that I'm not very good at texting myself as I don't carry my phone with me while at practice. When is a good time to communicate with you?"

"In the morning at 7, afternoon at 1, and in the evening at 8." Ruby stated.

Pyrrha furrowed her eyebrows, "Are those your meal times?"

Ruby's cheeks darkened, as she ducked her head, "Uh… Yeah."

A small laugh erupted from Pyrrha's throat, "Please do not worry. I ask because those are the times I eat myself. This will make communication between the two of us much simpler."

"Okay… That's good." Ruby smiled, looking back up and making eye contact

Pyrrha nodded in agreement, starring into bright silver eyes.

The two seemed more than content to continue standing in front of one another, staring into each other's eyes as small laughs passed between them.

It wasn't until Pyrrha heard footsteps and someone calling out for Ruby from behind that the two snapped out of it. Pyrrha took a step to the side to allow the newcomer room on the pathway.

"Blake!" Ruby exclaimed, looking the newcomer with long black hair and golden eyes, wearing a purple turtleneck and black jeans."You're home early!"

"I could say the same to you." Blake answered back, glancing over to Pyrrha warily.

"Oh, Blake, this is Pyrrha – she helped me bring back my limbs and equipment. Pyrrha, this is Blake, my roommate." Ruby quickly introduced the two.

"Hello." Pyrrha said with a small wave, garnering a small nod of acknowledgment from Blake. "I was actually just on my way." She said, taking a small step away from the apartment to emphasize her statement.

"Thank you for helping me Pyrrha, I really appreciated it." Ruby said

"You're very welcome." Pyrrha cheerfully stated, "I'll… text you tomorrow…?" She asked with a tone of uncertainty

Ruby nodded in agreement, renewing the confidence back up in Pyrrha as the two exchanged one last smile before the basketball player departed.

As Pyrrha walked away, she heard Blake offer to help Ruby bring in her equipment with agreement.

Turning around one last time, Pyrrha caught Ruby's eye, prompting the engineer to enthusiastically wave good-bye. "Have a good night!"

A large smile stretched across her face as Pyrrha raised one hand into the air to return the gesture, "I will! Have a good night yourself Ruby!"

Casting one last grin, Ruby picked up the last of her equipment and entered her apartment.

With endorphins still coursing through Pyrrha's veins, she couldn't help but propel herself into the air with the tip of her toes in glee a few times before jogging back to her own apartment.

She couldn't wait to talk to Ruby again.


End file.
